Biochip Pillar Structure Bubble Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Biochips face challenges in achieving high density while preventing bubble formation in aqueous liquids and sample damage due to reduced diameters of well and pillar portions, leading to inefficient experiments and sample damage from external forces or vibrations.
Innovation Solution
Optimizing the diameter ratio of pillar portions to well portions within 0.3 to 0.58 and incorporating stepped portions with air discharge grooves to prevent bubble formation and reduce collision impact, ensuring high-density biochip design without sample damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the diameter of well portions is decreased to increase biochip density, then the density of the biochip is improved, but bubbles form in the aqueous liquid contained in the well portions
Solution Approach 1:
The pillar portions are designed with non-uniform cross-sectional areas along their length, creating different local geometries. The upper portion has a larger diameter than the lower portion, forming a shoulder structure. This local geometric variation prevents bubbles from forming in the aqueous liquid by disrupting the bubble generation mechanism that occurs with uniform cylindrical pillars.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the pillar portions by varying the diameter along the length. Specifically, the upper diameter is set to 0.5-0.8 times the well portion diameter, and the lower diameter is set to 0.3-0.6 times the well portion diameter, creating an optimized gradient structure that prevents bubble formation while maintaining high density.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the diameter of pillar portions is excessively decreased to increase gaps between sidewalls and pillar portions, then the gaps are increased, but the sample attachment area is reduced causing sample separation or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The pillar portions exhibit different cross-sectional dimensions at different locations along their length. The upper portion has a larger diameter (0.5-0.8 times well diameter) providing sufficient sample attachment area, while the lower portion has a smaller diameter (0.3-0.6 times well diameter) creating adequate gaps for liquid flow and reducing collision impact from external forces or vibrations.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of uniformly decreasing the pillar diameter in one dimension, the invention introduces variation along the length dimension, creating a gradient structure. This dimensional approach allows the upper portion to maintain large diameter for sample attachment while the lower portion provides small diameter for gap creation, effectively resolving the contradiction through spatial distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
Technology for a biochip pillar structure is disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the biochip pillar structure includes: a pillar structure including a plate-shaped first substrate portion, and pillar portions protruding from a surface of the first substrate portion; and a well structure including a plate-shaped second substrate portion, and well portions formed in a surface of the second substrate portion and having a predetermined depth to respectively receive the pillar portions of the pillar structure, wherein the well portions have a diameter within a range of 800 μm to 1500 μm, and the pillar portions configured to be inserted into the well portions have a diameter of which the ratio to the diameter of the well portions ranges from 0.3 to 0.58, thereby providing a high-density biochip and preventing bubbling in an aqueous liquid contained in the well portions when the pillar portions are inserted.